The double checkouts in Aldi branches are intended to make it possible to serve two customers at the same time. picture alliance / CHROMORANGE | Udo Herrmann
Aldi Süd is introducing double checkouts to make the shopping process more efficient. This comes from a report by “Spiegel”.
The new cash registers should make it possible to serve two customers at the same time. However, they cause dissatisfaction among employees.
A cashier described the new cash register system as a “misconstruction”. Employees also complain of physical discomfort and technical problems that lead to delays and missed payments.
Aldi Süd has introduced a new strategy to speed up the checkout process. There will now be double checkouts where two customers can be served at the same time. This initiative was already announced in January 2023, as the “Spiegel“ reported. The discounter wants to make the purchasing process more efficient.
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The idea behind it is simple: While customer A is still busy putting away and paying for his purchases, the checkout staff is already scanning customer B’s goods. To make this possible, the new checkouts are equipped with two goods shafts and a second payment terminal. Cashiers can use a display to check whether a customer has paid correctly. If this is not the case, a warning signal sounds. The new checkouts also have a ceiling mirror, a camera and an additional monitor so that the checkout staff can check the goods in and under the cart.
Aldi employees call the new cash registers a “misconstruction”
Thanks to the new system, Aldi employees should be able to scan items more quickly. Customers also have more time to pack. But the concept is met with little enthusiasm among employees, according to the “Spiegel” report. Some employees report that the ceiling mirror is too far away and the camera only offers a low resolution. This makes it impossible to identify all the items exactly – a clear “misconstruction,” as one employee judges. In order to make sure, the checkout staff have to stand up and this leads to delays in the process.
It is particularly problematic if the payment process does not work properly. Sometimes the warning tone that a purchase has not been paid only sounds after the customer has already left the branch. According to a cashier, this now happens “several times per shift,” the news magazine quotes an employee as saying. It is currently unclear how the company will react if payments are often missed.
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In addition, the new concept leads to a high level of stress on employees. They complain of physical complaints such as shoulder and neck pain as well as fatigue at the end of their working day. In addition, the pressure is high because two customers always have to be served. Mohammed Rifi, the chairman of the general works council at Aldi Süd, is therefore calling for appropriate remuneration for the employees who work at the double checkouts.
Aldi Süd itself has not yet commented on the critical comments made by its employees. However, Rifi explained that the company wanted to take care of the delayed alarm for the new double checkouts.
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